Consignment of the Week: Bill Sharman Celtics Jersey

If you grew up in the early 1970s, you knew him as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. If you’re a Boston Celtics fan, you know him as half of one of the NBA’s all-time great backcourts. Bill Sharman spent over 25 years in pro basketball (and even some pro baseball). Now, a surviving relic from his career as Bob Cousy’s running mate during the Celts’ glory days is about to hit the auction block.

Rated A10 by MEARS, which cited “heavy” game wear. The Horace Partridge manufactured size 42 jersey has a team repair near the letter”B” on the chest. The Partridge label includes a now illegible black marker notation.

Sharman is one of only four men to have been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach (only his former teammate Tom Heinsohn, Lenny Wilkens and John Wooden are part of that elite club).

Sharman’s career actually began as a second round draft pick of the Washington Capitols in 1950 before being traded to the Celtics, where he won four NBA championships and was named to eight All-Star teams. One of the first players to carry a shooting percentage of over .400, he led the NBA in free throw percentage seven times. Sharman once made 56 consecutive free throws in playoff competition, a record that still stands. He was the MVP of the 1955 All-Star Game. Boston retired his number 21 in 1966.

The auction, which includes hundreds of items, is expected to open February 1 and close over two days, February 23 and 24.

About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for more than 30 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]